Thiruvananthapuram,May13: An innovative bio-waste management system, wholly powered by earthworm activity, has been showcased at the ongoing HabFest-30 exhibition here.

The new system, designed by Habitat Technology Group, provides an eco-friendly, low-cost alternative to both traditional landfill disposal and expensive waste treatment methods, T P Madhu, a senior consultant at Habitat said in a release.

The system also allows households to potentially recoup installation expenses within a year and, from then on, even turn up a profit, he said. Housed in a concrete ring-shaped structure, the ground-level system features four hollow chambers separated from each other by partition walls.

The base slopes toward a central chamber, which serves as the collection point for the liquid run-off from the degradation process as transferred through small culverts in the surrounding walls.

“Three of the chambers can be filled with all kinds of bio-degradable organic waste while the fourth is where the earth and worms are deposited.

These will make their way to the waste in the adjoining chambers through holes in the dividers,” Madhu added. The exhibition, which began on 11 May, will conclude on 14 May.